Germany 14

Listen to Germany 14, a 62-year-old woman from Berlin, Germany, and also the United States. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 62

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 1947

PLACE OF BIRTH: West Berlin, Germany

GENDER: female

ETHNICITY: Caucasian

OCCUPATION: retired

EDUCATION: some college

AREA(S) OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

She moved to California, in the United States, when she was 35, and has lived there since.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH:

Her husband is Turkish.

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Tiffany Toner (under supervision of David Nevell)

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 17/11/2009

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

In Berlin in 1947, after the war, and, well, I lived there all my life until 1982 when I came to the United States. And I have two brothers in Germany but one died, and no more no other relatives in Germany anymore, just a brother left and some cousins. When, well, when I was fourteen he got married, but he married to the east so we didn’t, after that we didn’t see each other much anymore cause he could [not] cross it, ya. We went once to get a visa to go into on only only our own country, you know from the west to the east so it was pretty. Both of my brothers, all of a sudden, they had this idea to marry over there they were thinking the wall would be down, but it never happened. My sisters-in-law never wanted to come to the west they had all their family there but nobody were expecting the wall to stay that long I guess. Let me think, eh, it’s twenty years now, so ’89 ’89, ya, I saw it on TV the other day, my brother just called me and said the wall is down put he put our names on a wall our names the whole family. Ya ya I remember this before the wall fell came down it was crazy [unclear] by brother me they try all to flee the east and nobody knew why because it came down anyway but he still lives there same same place [unclear]. When I was married he’s from Turkey so he could go to Checkpoint Charlie no problem, but I couldn’t so we had to part we I had to go over the train over the check point and he could go there So we found one checkpoint after this where we could go together. And then we come there it was I don’t know which year it was but the Olympics were so the United States did a boycott against Russia this year so we come to the checkpoint and we want to go and they says to me well you can go he can’t we I said so why can I go and he can’t, I’m the German he can go anywhere, no, no, not not to us anymore. They didn’t; He wouldn’t say why some I come so I go home and call my brother and said, hey, they didn’t let him go, I could go just me he said, ya, the Turks stay on the American side so we won’t let them in here. And then one time we went also they did search the whole car. Took the walls out the interior for the whole car, and we went to a funeral so we came late to the funeral because he had to put back had to put it back. Ya, we came late to the funeral to the uncle. I will never forget this, and in the back we had the flower arrangements and he didn’t care; I never have a favorite food everybody says its bratwurst and sauerkraut would be an original food from Berlin, but I don’t like it mashed potatoes are very famous in Germany potatoes and mushrooms and eggs actually over them mashed potato, but you wouldn’t get it in a restaurant that It’s a real German, I think it’s a real Berliner recipe; you put mashed potatoes and then you put an egg over it. The mushrooms are with milk; make them with milk, you fry them with onions and mushroom and put a little bit of milk in it, and it has a sauce so nobody eats it but me.

TRANSCRIBED BY: Tiffany Toner (under supervision of David Nevell)

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 17/11/2009

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY: N/A

COMMENTARY BY: N/A

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

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